LAUSR

In the present study, physicochemical, pasting and antioxidant properties of six wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar grains after 24, 48 and 72 h of germination duration were evaluated and compared with their un-germinated counterparts. Chemical compositions of un-germinated fraction of whole flour were also determined. The results showed that swelling power decreased whereas solubility increased as the time of germination increased. From 24 to 72 h water and oil absorption capacities increased significantly with germination. The DPPH radical scavenging activity and reducing power exhibited significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase with germination for all the cultivars. Total phenolic content ranged from 463.6 to 644.6 µg ferulic acid equivalents (FAE)/g for un-germinated to 1255.5–2380.9 µg FAE/g for germinated whole grain flour. Total flavonoids content increased from 86.5 to 266.7 µg catechin equivalents (CE)/g for un-germinated to 289.7–385.4 µg CE/g as the duration of germination increased from 0 to 72 h. The characteristics curves showing pasting profile of different cultivars became nearly linear for 48 and 72 h germinated grain flour. Several, significant correlations were observed among studied properties from principal component analysis.